Compressor



y 1947. H. A. BERLINER 2,423,634

COMPRESSOR Filed June l2, 1945 f/[NRY A. BERL INER Patented July 8, 1947 COMPRESSOR Henry A. Berliner, Washington, D. 0., assignor to Engineering and Research Corporation, Riverdale, Md a corporation of Maryland Application June 12, 1945, Serial No. 598,967

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to gas compressors and, more particularly, to compressors of the type utilizing screw propeller blades as the compressing means.

It is the primary object of this invention, which is achieved by the disclosed structure, to provide gas compressing means which will successively impel the gas being compressed in axial and radial directions whereby a high degree of com ression, due to the cumulative effects of the two compressive forces, will be produced. It will be understood that the means provided by this invention may be utilized to compress any gas, but it will be described herein in connection with the compression of air. 4

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be made apparent by the following description and the annexed drawings which, it will be understood, are only illustrative of the invention and impose no limitation there on not imposed by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar reference numerals refer to like parts,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a compressor according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view taken online 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the collector.

My invention provides an air compressor which utilizes for air compression both the axial thrust and the centrifugal force of a rotating system of airfoil-shaped blades. One embodiment of my invention is disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and comprises a plurality of hollow airfoil-shaped, screw propeller blades 2 having open outer ends and being mounted on and extending radially from a hub 4 which is mounted for rotation about its axis and is connected to shaft 8 to which rotary force is applied. Rotation of this blade assembly is adapted, in a known and usual manner to cause air to be forced by the blades in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation from the inlet side A to the delivery side B of the blade system.

The hub 4 has formed therein an annular chamber 8 into which the interior passage of each hollow blade opens. On the delivery side B of the blade system this chamber is open to the exterior through a circular opening l which is concentric with the axis of rotation. The wall of the chamber 8 adjacent the intake side A of the hub is in the form of a cone I2 having concaved sides and having its apex in the plane of the delivery side B of the blade system and at the center of the opening I. This wall or surface of the chamber 8 is generated by revolving the arc of a circle about one end thereof lyin in the plane of the delivery side of the blade system, the other end lying in the plane of the inner wall of the internal blade passages adjacent the intake side of the blade system. It will be seen that, due to the provision and p0- sitioning of the conical member l2, air forced axially into the opening I 0 in a direction toward the inlet side A of the fan will be guided by the curved walls of the member I2 and will flow in a radially outward direction through the blades 2.

Means are provided by the invention for causing the axially-fiowing air at the delivery side B of the fan due to rotation of the blades 2 to be guided to, and discharged into, the central opening (0. Such means comprise the collector 20 which is positioned closely adjacent the delivery side B of the fan and, in the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 2, is stationary. Within the collector and facing the fan system is formed anair-guiding bowl-shaped chamber 22 which is concentric with the axis of the fan system and, in every diametrical section, is C-shaped on each side of such axis. The bottom surface 24 of the chamber 22 is formed as an arc of revolution, i. e., is formed by revolving the arc of a circle about the axis of rotation of the blade system as a center, with the center of revolution of the are at a point nearer to the blades than intermediate parts of the arc, and with the outer end of the arc adjacent the outer ends of the blades 2. Centrally of the recess 22 and adjacent the delivery side of the blades 2 there is provided an annular member 26 having a curved surface interiorly of the recess 22 and a flat surface closely adjacent the blades 2. This annular member 26 is supported on the main body of collector 20 by flat members 21 which extend radially of the axis of rotation and which, in addition to their supporting function, act as guide vanes for the air flowing through chamber 22.

It will be seen that the collector 20, which is closely adjacent the delivery side B of the blade system, has formed therein a circular recess which is concentric with the axis of rotation of the blade system and the outer periphery of which is adjacent the outer ends of the blades. The bottom of this recess, at its center, is raised in a point which extends toward the blade system. In addition, an annular member 26 is provided which is Spaced from the bottom of the recess 22 and is closely adjacent the delivery side of the blade system. The central opening of this annular member 26 registers with the external opening it) of the hub chamber 8. There is thus provided within the collector a chamber having an annular opening 28 which is co-extensive with the effective area of the blades 2, i. e., it extends radially from the periphery of the hub 4 to the outer extremity of the blades, having an outer or bottom wall 24 which curves from the outer periphery of the opening 28 to the axis of rotation, and having a central opening 30 which is concentric with the axis of rotation and is defined by the annular member 26, and which registers with the central opening in the hub.

Means are provided by the invention for receiving the air delivered through the outer ends of the hollow blades 2, and such means comprise the fixed diffuser ring 40 which surrounds the blades 2 and is provided with an annular inner opening into which the blades discharge. A delivery passage 42 extends from the diffuser til as shown in Fig. 1.

In the operation of the described compressor, the blade system 2 is rotated by power applied to the shaft 6, thus causing air to be drawn from the intake side A of the blade system and discharged into the annular opening 18 of the collector. Air is constantly delivered to every increment of the area of opening 28 during operation of the blade system and this air is guided in its movement on the delivery side of the blades by the wall 24 of the collector chamber and by th guide vanes 21. The air is therefore caused to flow in a semi-circular path, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2, and is discharged through the central opening in annular member to the chamber a in hub 4, from which it is agreed by the curved wall of chamber 8 from an axial to a radial direction and led into the interior passages in blades 2. The rapidly rotating blade assembly imparts centrifugal force to the air within the blades and discharges the same into the diffuser ring 40. It will be seen that air acted on by the blades 2 will be initially compressed by the action of the blades in forcing it into the chamber 22 and will be additionally compressed by the centrifugal effect of the rotating blades. It will also be seen that the blade system acts as a fully shrouded centrifugal impeller, and that the machine may be used for all purposes in which a high degree of compression is required, such for example as a supercharger for aircraft or other engines.

While I have described and illustrated but one embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments, as well as modifications of that disclosed, may be made without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits or" which reference must be had to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An air compressor comprising a plurality of separate hollow blades extending radially from a rotatably mounted hub and adapted upon rotation to force air between the blades from the intake side of the blade system to the delivery side in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation to impart initial energy to such air, means for delivering into the inner ends of said blades the air impelled to the delivery side of said blade system by operation thereof to thereby cause such air to be forced radially through the separate blades whereby energy due to centrifugal force is added to the air, and means for receiving the air discharged from the open outer ends of said blades.

2. An air compressor comprising a hub, a plurality of separate hollow blade extending radially from the hub and adapted upon rotation of the hub to cause air to how between the blades from the intake to the delivery side of the blade system in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the hub to impart initial energy to such air, said hub having a chamber therein opening externally at the delivery side of the blade system and communicating with the hollow interior of each blade, means for guiding the axially flowing air delivered by the blade system to the external opening of the hub chamber and thence into the hollow blades whereby energy due to centrifugal force is imparted to such air, and annular means adjacent the open outer ends of the blades for receivin the air discharged therefrom.

3. A compressor according to claim 2, in which the means for guiding the air comprise a member closely adjacent the delivery side of the blade system having a circular recess therein facing the blade system, the surface of said recess being generated by the revolution about the axis of rotation of the hub of the arc of a circle of which one end lies in such axis of rotation at a point spaced from the delivery side of the blade system in the direction away from the intake side thereof, the other end lies adjacent the outer ends of the blades, and intermediate parts of the arc are more removed from the delivery side of the blade system than the end of the are which lies in the axis of rotation of the hub.

4. A compressor according to claim 2, in which the means for guiding the air comprise a member closely adjacent the delivery side of the blade system having a circular bowl-shaped recess therein which is concentric with the axis of rotation of the hub, the outer periphery of said recess being adjacent the outer ends of the blades and the center of the bottom of the recess being raised in a point extending toward the intake side of the blade system, and an annular member spaced from the bottom of the recess and being closely adjacent the delivery side of the blade system and defining a central opening registering with the external opening of the chamber of the hub, and a plurality of spaced radial vanes attaching said annular member to the means for guiding the air.

HENRY A. BERLINER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,603,966 Lorenzen Oct. 19, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 505,866 Germany Aug. 26. 1930 

